Second Perspectives
by dreamcloud1
Summary: A take on the other perspectives of the tributes in the Hunger Games...what was it like from their point of view? Glimmer, Clove/Cato, Foxface, Rue/Thresh.
1. Glimmer

**Hi everyone! I thought I'd write a Hunger Games story (as THG is really popular at the moment, so here are the perspectives of the Games from the other tributes, from the Reaping to the Games. I've done them in order by District (though didn't include Marvel as I don't really know much about him). Anyway, hope you enjoy reading!**

Reaping Day is considered a time of honour in District One.

Especially today. Glimmer is almost certain that the odds will be in her favour.

She gets herself ready in her bedroom at home, she pulls her light green dress over her head, made of shimmery fabric, to match her eyes. Glimmer brushes her long blonde hair past her shoulders, looking with satisfaction at her reflection in the mirror. And she remembers back to when she was small.

"You're going to grow up to be a beauty." her mother would always tell her, tugging one of Glimmer's many designer dresses straight, made by the Capitol. "I know so. You just wait and see."

Glimmer smiles at herself. She certainly is one of the prettiest girls in her class at school. The other girls would stare enviously at her beautiful blonde hair, wishing they had hair like hers.

Well, today was the day she was going to shine. Like she was always made to.

* * *

She can't believe that _she_ was the one picked to volunteer, out of all the other girls in District One. Voices shouted out all over the place, girls like her that wanted to be in the Hunger Games, and bring honor to District One. But _damn it_, she wouldn't let that stop her. She shouts out as loud as she can. And, all of a sudden, the brightly-dressed escort, Henna, is looking her way, and beckoning her up onto the stage.

Glimmer takes a good look around the rest of the district. Her mother and father are smiling proudly, although she can't help but notice a tiny flicker of worry on both faces. But they needn't worry. She was born to _win. _She is a Career, after all. She didn't train since she was eight just so that she could _lose._

So she flashes her most winning smile around the district, and waits to see who will join her on stage. A boy called Marvel, who goes to her school. She's certainly seen him around a bit. And when it's time to shake hands, she grips his hand and smiles – only she's sending him a strong, silent message. _Don't screw this up._

He seems to understand only too well, able to easily see it in the expression in her eyes.

The train ride there doesn't take long at all, the district only being half an hour away. Before Glimmer knows what's happening, she and Marvel are standing on the platform, along with their mentor Drako and Henna, smiling and waving at the luridly-dressed residents of the Capitol. Even though she has seen the Capitol quite a few times on television and pictured on the back of glossy brochures, she is still blown away at how _big_ everything is.

Henna then takes Glimmer to what looks like a hospital mixed with a beauty salon. The beauty salon part is familiar, but she's not so sure about the hospital part. She's plucked and tweaked, poked and prodded. But she doesn't mind, because everyone that attends to her says how stunning she is.

Even so, a tiny part of her wants to be the girl seen more than a pretty face. She wants to be the girl who is a fighter. The girl who won the 74th Hunger Games.

* * *

Later in the evening, as the time draws near to six o'clock, the chariots are being prepared for the parade. As the final touches are made to her and Marvel's chariot, Glimmer glances around the spacious room at the stylists and the other tributes. There's a boy and a girl next to them, from District Twelve, who are dressed in similar black leathery costumes. _Coal miners. Figures._ She shifts her gaze to another pair, from District Two. They are dressed in gladiator-style costumes, looking as though they're made from golden armour. Glimmer is just about to look away, when the boy from District Two glances her way. Their eyes lock on each other for a few seconds, then he raises an eyebrow at her. She smirks at him, then looks away.

During the chariot ride, she realizes one thing. She was _made_ for this. The chariot containing her and Marvel is the first out, and the shouts and cheers from the Capitol are near deafening. She smiles at the audience, blowing kisses and waving. But suddenly, as the chariot is nearing the end of the track, the audience seem to be looking at another chariot, and if possible, shouting even louder. Their horse turns around to face the crowds, and what she sees makes her eyes widen. The back of District Twelve's chariot seems to be on fire, the two tributes standing up, seeming to silently acknowledge the crowd's cheers and the shouts.

_How dare they steal the show?_ Glimmer wonders indignantly, staring at them. Marvel also is not oblivious to the fact that District Twelve's chariot is creating more attention than probably all the others put together.

"Right. It's _on._" Marvel hisses, watching as the chariot comes to a halt at the end of the track.

Glimmer curls her lip. "Definitely."

* * *

Next is the interview with Caeser Flickerman. Glimmer remembers everything that Drako told her about being interviewed. "Just remember to make people like you, be as charismatic as you can. And remember, _smile._"

So she flashes her most award-winning smile around the the audience, as Caeser Flickerman warmly shakes her hand and leads her to sit down.

"Yes, Caeser, I am very prepared." she says, when he asks her if she is ready to enter the Hunger Games.

All she knows is that she's prepared to do whatever it takes to win.

The training session seems to pass more quickly than it should have. Still, Glimmer is able to practice her hunting and survival skills. And, of course, take mental notes of who she is going to destroy. She learns that the boy from District Two is called Cato, his District partner Clove. And the two from District Twelve are called Katniss and Peeta.

_So at least when I kill, I know who I'll be killing,_ Glimmer thinks, as she loads an arrow and shoots it, just missing the centre of the target.

"Need some help there?"

A voice beside her brings her to look up at the grinning face of Cato.

"No thanks. I'm fine." She lowers her bow and arrow, glancing at him up and down. And she can't deny it, she likes the way he looks. Big and strong. She smiles at him, just like Drako told her. He grins back.

"Shouldn't you be helping Clove instead, by acting as a moving target to throw knives at?" she asks, glancing over at Clove, slightly envious as she watches her throwing knives at multiple targets. Never missing a beat, always hitting it dead centre.

Cato shrugs. "She'll get plenty of practice in the arena. And so will you." He nods towards her bow and arrow. "Anyways, see you around."

"See you." Glimmer watches as Cato turns around and heads towards the survival station, where Marvel is learning to make a fire.

_Maybe this will help us form an alliance,_ Glimmer thinks, as she raises her bow and shoots at the target, hitting it right in the centre.

* * *

The day of the Games is not what Glimmer expects. Having to sit on a small jet plane with Peacekeepers guarding the entrances does feel a bit strange. _As if any of us would try to jump out the window,_ she thinks sardonically. And having to sit _next_ to the other tributes is worse. Still, at least there's hope of a possible alliance between the Districe One and Two tributes, which she doesn't mind. And when she showed the Gamemakers what she could do with a bow and arrow, a score on nine was even better.

_25, 24, 23, 22..._

As the countdown begins, she takes a look around the circle of tributes, then to the stack of supplies scattered here and there in the centre. There are backpacks, large containers, and a bow and arrow...

_17, 16, 15, 14..._

Glimmer wants that bow and arrow. Her gaze shifts to the tributes again. Katniss Everdeen from District Twelve has also caught sight of it. Glimmer's jaw clenches fiercely. She is _getting_ that bow and arrow, and nothing is going to stop her.

_10, 9, 8..._

Even if she has to kill her...

_7, 6, 5..._

Glimmer poises herself to run.

_4, 3, 2..._

One more second...

1!

All the tributes are sprinting towards the centre. Glimmer runs as fast as she can towards the bow and arrow, colliding with a girl from District Six. And before she knows what she's done, the dead body of the girl is lying on the ground, and Glimmer is pulling herself up, the bloody knife in her hand. There's no time to stop now. She takes down another girl from District Ten, viciously stabbing her with the knife as she runs towards the bow and arrow, and all of a sudden...

She's got them. They're _hers._ She slings the quiver of arrows onto her back, takes the bow in her hand, and quickly looks around. Dead bodies of other tributes are strewn around, some with the handle of a knife protruding from their backs. _Clove,_ Glimmer thinks, catching sight of her as she runs towards them. She sees Marvel finishing off another of the tributes, and Cato half-visible, standing inside the entrance of the Cornucopia, turning around to grin at them.

"Come and see what we've got!" He motions to the two girls to come forward. Clove eagerly strides forwards, while Glimmer follows. "Weapons of choice!"

"Look at those knives." Clove mutters. "Perfect." She reaches out and touches the handle of one with a finger.

Marvel approaches them, breathless. "How many of them do you think are dead?"

Before anyone can answer, a loud bang like a cannon fires. Then another. Then another. All four of them listen, Glimmer counting in her head. _Nine...Ten...Eleven...Twelve._ Half the number of tributes down in the first few hours.

She sure hopes that she isn't one of the tributes to go down next.

* * *

They find the boy from District Twelve next. Peeta. He's lurking around the trees, probably trying to find Katniss Everdeen. But still, he isn't quick enough to outrun them. Cato springs upon him, grabs him from behind and is about to slit his throat when an idea springs to Glimmer's mind.

"_Wait!"_ she hisses at Cato. "Don't kill him yet!"

Clove, Cato and Marvel stare at her, surprised. But she's not finished.

"So...Lover Boy." she muses, narrowing her eyes at Peeta. "Where's your girlfriend, Katniss Everdeen, hmm?"

"I-well-" Peeta stutters. Cato jabs the knife at him threateningly.

"If you want to stay alive, take us to her."

Glimmer laughs with Cato as they stride through the forest that night, with Clove, Marvel and Peeta tagging along behind. They had found the girl from District Eight sitting beside a fire, attempting to keep herself warm. Cato had handed Glimmer the knife, and she had done what she had to. It wasn't even that big a deal, really.

"Oh no! Please don't kill me, oh no!" Glimmer cries, mocking the girl's terrified voice. Cato laughs. "Did you see the look on her face?"

She's not really sure why they shouldn't just kill Peeta now and get on with it. They'll find Katniss Everdeen later. But still, Cato has a point about Peeta being their best chance of finding Katniss. She smiles at Cato. He's _always_ right.

* * *

A couple of days later, they manage to find Katniss Everdeen, half submerged in the lake. When she sees them coming, she scrambles out as fast as she can and runs in the opposite direction. They chase after her, Glimmer and Cato in the lead, with the others following as fast as they can, laughing at her when they find her up a tree.

"Where are you going?' Glimmer jeers, watching as Cato prepares to climb up after her. She, Clove and Marvel shout encouragement after him. Suddenly, the branch snaps, and he falls back down onto the ground with a loud thud.

"I'll do it myself." Glimmer hisses, drawing her bow and arrow to shoot at Katniss. She misses. Cato also attempt to shoot at her, but no avail.

Eventually, Peeta comes up with the suggestion of waiting until she comes back down. Glimmer and the others turn to stare at him. It's the only sensible suggestion he's come up with since joining with them, and Glimmer for once does not object.

That night, as the five of them sit round the fire, Glimmer sits next to Cato. She gets the feeling that he's trying to impress her, putting the end of his sword into the fire, then blowing gently on it to extinguish it.

Smiling, she shakes her head. "Please." She can feel Clove's eyes boring into her through the darkness. But at that moment, she doesn't care.

Glimmer lies down to go to sleep that night, with her head on Cato's arm. She feels safe. Protected. Cato will protect her if anything goes wrong.

Suddenly, she's awakened by a violent buzzing sound, all around her.

_Tracker Jackers._

In a nanosecond, she and the others are all awake, scrambling to their feet and running. Both Glimmer and Clove are screaming in terror, Cato and Marvel yelling, as all five of them attempt to run. Peeta, Clove and Marvel are frantically swatting away the wasps as they disappear into the trees. However, Glimmer seems to have got the worst of it all. She senses someone, Cato, trying to pull her away from the swarm, but then his grip on her loosens, as he runs away from her into the trees.

Glimmer is left, all alone, screaming hysterically for help, in pain and terror. But nobody comes to save her. The Tracker Jackers are stinging every part of her they can reach. Her neck, face, hands. No, worse, they are _inside_ her clothing, stinging her from the inside. She tries to bat them away with her bow, but there are too many of them.

She tries to run, but she only gets as far as the next tree before she collapses. Her face and neck are swelling, her throat constricting from the venom. In agonizing pain, she is left to die, her screams choking off.

All she can think now, being only seconds away from death, is, _How the mighty have fallen._

**Indeed... Next up is Clove and Cato's version of events!**


	2. Clove&Cato

**Well here we go everyone, Clove and Cato's POV...**

**CLOVE:**

On the day of the Reaping in District Two, Clove pulls the door to her house open and stands for a moment in the doorway, surveying the scene before her. People from all around her district making their way to the Town Centre, talking and laughing with each other. The Reaping is meant to be a time of celebration. A time of honour for those brave enough to be selected for the 74th Hunger Games, a chance to bring it to their district.

Would Clove be picked this year, maybe? Year after year of training to be a Career, and still she hadn't been selected.

Well, whether she liked it or not, she was about to find out.

As she walks to the Town Centre with her mother, father and older brother, she glances round for any sights of her friends. Through the crowd, it's difficult to see anyone who she might know. However, when she's standing in line in her age group, she casts her eyes across to where the boys are, and her eyes land on Cato. He's not really one of her friends, but still, she knows him well enough. But before she can call out to him, a woman from the Capitol wearing an orange dress with crazy hair and matching heels taps the microphone.

And District Two settles into silence, waiting for her to speak.

Clove's name is called.

She walks up to the stage, trying her best to ignore the stares she's getting from practically everyone. The woman dressed in orange is beckoning her up onto the platform, a beam on her face. She stands in front of the district, their eyes piercing her like she's the most interesting thing on the planet. Well, in a few short days, she will be.

"Now, for the boys." The woman walks over to the second glass bowl, teetering a little in her high heels.

Clove waits, listens...and it's Cato who volunteers.

_Guess I didn't see that one coming,_ she thinks as he joins her on stage. His eyes meet hers, and he gives her a half-smile. In reply, she sticks her hand out so they can shake hands, although she doesn't smile back.

"Well, isn't this lovely?" The orange-dressed woman twinkles at them. "Let's have a big hand for the tributes of District Two!"

**CATO:**

Sitting opposite Clove as the train rushes at the speed of a bullet towards the Capitol, Cato remembers the last piece of advice his father gave him before leaving the district.

"_Give them hell, son. Play to your strengths and you'll win."_

He remembers his mother, with a smile on her face. "_We're so proud of you."_ She gives him a hug, and even though she's trying to be strong, Cato can see she's attempting not to cry. Or something.

But he knows that he can win. He has to.

"We have to give them hell, Clove. All of them." The words are out of his mouth before he knows what he's saying.

Clove stares at him. "Of course we do. That's what we're here for." She turns to look out the window at the scenery flashing by. "Don't think that I'm going to go easy on you, either, just because we're from the same district."

"Noted." Cato says. "You too."

He can't help noticing a tiny flicker of a smile on Clove's face before she can stop herself. He grins back at her, before the two of them lapse into silence.

The next few hours pass so quickly that Cato can't quite believe they're getting ready to board the chariots for the parade. He's dressed in his costume, along with Clove, looking the part of a warrior, and looks around the busy room. Stylists are hurrying around, putting the final touches on tribute's outfits. Suddenly, he can feel someone watching him. Cato glances up, and sees the girl from District One staring at him. He raises his eyebrow at her, this action making her smirk at him. A second later, she looks away. Clove is glaring at him to hurry up and get in the chariot, to which he does. But, as the chariot begins to roll forwards, the the shouts from the Capitol greet him, he can't get the face of the girl out of his mind.

**CLOVE:**

Over the next few days, the tributes' training starts. Hand-to-hand combat, archery, survival techniques...there are so many things to learn. But at the moment, the only thing Clove is interested in learning, beside throwing knives, is the name of the girl from District One. Glimmer. Cato seems to be getting rather friendly with her. Hmm. Glimmer's district partner is called Marvel. Hopefully, before she kills the pair of them, Glimmer and Marvel could at least be of some use helping to pick off most of the tributes. Clove smiles to herself as she throws another knife at the target, and hits it in the centre.

Later that afternoon, everything appears to be going smoothly, when a commotion a couple of stations away catches the attention of herself and everyone else in the room.

"Where's my knife? You took my knife!" Cato yells at the boy from District Six. If it weren't for the Peacekeepers pulling them apart, Clove knows that Cato would have stopped at nothing to get his knife back.

Abandoning her position in the line for the fighting station, Clove marches up to Cato, grabs him by the arm and pulls him away.

"What was that for?" he mutters, still looking angry. "He took my knife! I had it with me, and he grabbed it when I wasn't looking, the little–"

"Cato, there are more important things to worry about than a _knife_." Clove glances over her shoulder to make sure nobody is listening. "Remember, we have to make as many people like us as possible, so that we get sponsors. And so far, we're not off to a very good start." She raises an eyebrow at him, then turns around and stomps back over into the line.

**CATO:**

It's finally the day that everyone has been waiting for.

The day of the Games.

Cato knows he's got this in the bag. In the interview with Caesar Flickerman, he'd made sure that he appeared confident and charismatic. Just like many seemed to be.

"I'm prepared, vicious, ready to go." he'd said, earning a loud round of applause from the audience at the end.

Now, Cato watches as the big timer ticks away, counting down the amount of seconds left until the Games begin. The other tributes are getting ready to run, but some of them won't even make it past the first ten seconds. He readies himself to run, aiming for the closest weapon he sees; a huge knife.

The buzzer sounds.

And the next thing he knows, he's running towards the knife, clenching his hand tightly around the handle. He's slashing at the other tributes, ripping them apart, not even pausing before he attacks the next one. Because he _needs_ to win this. He has to do whatever it takes.

When he finally stops, he's standing inside the entrance to the Cornucopia, taking in the wonder of the sight in front of him. A selection of weapons; knives and saws, just like the ones in the Capitol.

He takes a look over his shoulder. Clove and Glimmer are running towards him, with Marvel following behind them. Thoughts drift through his mind. _It seems we've formed an alliance...we'll have to work out where to go if we want to hunt down the other tributes..._

Time to take charge.

"Right, everyone." Cato glances round at the other three, who look slightly disheveled, but eager to hear more. "We're going hunting."

He's not really sure why they picked up a stray along the way. Peeta from District Twelve. Cato was going to kill him anyway, with Cato and Marvel nodding vigorously in agreement, but it's Glimmer who stops him, with the idea that he'd be able to lead them to Katniss Everdeen. Clove's eyes practically glowed with excitement. She'd told Cato that she'd been wanting to kill her ever since she escaped one of Clove's knives at the Cornucopia. Also because she'd been given a higher training score than her by the Gamemakers.

And since they don't have any other options, they're taking Glimmer's idea on board.

That's another thing that Cato likes about Glimmer. She's beautiful _and_ smart.

**CLOVE:**

She trudges along behind Glimmer and Cato, listening to them mock the voice of the girl they've just killed, from District Eight. Clove doesn't know why, but she already hates Glimmer with a passion. Maybe it's because now, she's stolen Clove's only trustworthy companion away from her.

However, Clove's spirits are lifted when, a couple of days later, they find Katniss Everdeen. They manage to corner her up a tree, calling up at her and laughing. Cato immediately volunteers to climb up after her.

"Kill her, Cato!" Clove yells, amid the shouts of Glimmer and Marvel. But to Clove's alarm, Cato falls out of the tree. She's about to check if he's all right, but then Glimmer attempts to shoot an arrow up the tree. To Clove's delight, the arrow misses.

Now as night falls, she's sitting around the campfire, maintaining a distance between Cato and Glimmer. Marvel is slumped over on his side, probably asleep, and Lover Boy is lying on his back, staring up into the trees. _He's probably lusting after Everdeen up there,_ Clove thinks bitterly. _At least she's got someone to care about her until she dies._

She glances over to Glimmer, who is lying with her head on Cato's arm. As she does so, a tiny flicker of sadness washes over her, even though she tries to shake it away. _I'll never have anyone that will want me,_ she thinks miserably. _Cato has Glimmer now...I don't blame him. He probably won't care about me even if I end up dead._

She vents her feelings by throwing a small knife at a lizard, hitting it right in its middle.

All hell break loose as Clove and the others are woken up by the swarm of vicious Tracker Jackers. She screams in terror, running as fast as she can away from the swarm into the trees, closely followed by Marvel. The tree branches whip at her face, the stings from the swarm smarting over her arms and face. She can't see Cato or Peeta anywhere, or Glimmer...

Suddenly, she stumbles, nearly falling over onto the ground. The buzzing from the swarm seems to have receded, but like bad radio reception. Growing softer, then louder, then softer again. Her head spins, the sight of the forest growing blurry. A crashing of branches and snapping of twigs behind her signals Cato dashing through the trees, coming to a stop in front of her.

"I bet it was Everdeen who set the swarm onto us." Marvel hisses, his face swimming in and out of focus before Clove's eyes.

"She's-nexx...on-our-liss..." She hears Cato's voice, his words merging together into one. He looks at her with a mixture of impatience and concern. "Clove?"

Clove blinks, the forest starting to mix together in a kaleidoscope swirl. The trees branch off to either side, their branches reaching out toward her. In the centre, the sun appears out of nowhere, swelling to four times its size, before bursting into pieces and collapsing like a deflated balloon.

And as Clove collapses onto the ground, Glimmer's cannon fires.

**CATO:**

_It's all my fault._

_I just abandoned Glimmer and ran._

_I shouldn't have done that._

_But then again, I would have had to kill her anyway to win..._

Thoughts pound rentlessly inside Cato's head as the next couple of days pass. The guilt he feels about Glimmer is fading, though gradually. Clove, thankfully, has recovered from the Tracker Jacker stings, leaving her more bloodthirsty and more ready to kill Katniss then ever. Marvel has managed to acquire another tribute that could be of some use to them, a boy from District Three. Cato let him join their alliance on one condition–that he'd rewire the mines to protect their supplies.

There's one thing that he doesn't regret, though. The fact that he injured Peeta's leg badly, for letting Katniss get away felt satisfactory. Let nature finish him off.

It''s late afternoon when something catches Cato's eye, not too far from their camp. A spiral of smoke, rising from the trees. A fire, lit by another tribute.

"Look." He points in the direction of the smoke. Clove, Marvel and the boy from District Three rise from their seats to look. Without hesitation, Cato grabs his sword. "You stay guard til we get back." he tells the boy from District Three. Marvel and Clove follow as quick as they can behind him, as they rush into the forest towards the source of the fire.

Except they don't see anyone. The fire is blazing, smoke rising heavily into the air, but there is no sight of any of the tributes anywhere. Cato grinds his teeth in frustration, the feeling rising up inside him.

"Where are they? Nobody's here!" Clove growls, scanning through the trees.

"Looks like it was just a trap." Marvel adds unhelpfully.

"God _damn it_." Cato hisses. "You can have Katniss Everdeen to finish, Clove. When I get my hands on Peeta, I'll–"

_BANG!_

The loud explosion shakes the trees and the ground around them. Leave fall down in a torrent, the bushes shake.

"What was _that?_" Clove gasps, whipping around to face the direction of the explosion.

In a second, all three of them are running as fast as they can back to their campsite.

He doesn't know why he does it, but the next minute, the body of the boy from District Three is lying on the ground. Out of anger, probably. The minute Cato saw the campsite, blown to pieces, all of their supplies gone, something inside him snapped. Ignoring the boy's protests, he throws the weapon out of his hands, and with one sudden movement, twists the boy's neck, instantly killing him.

When he comes to his senses, he notices that Clove is standing behind him, looking as though she's not sure whether to approach him or not.

"Where's Marvel?" Cato spits, glaring at her.

"He ran off somewhere into the forest." Clove snaps at him. "And Cato, whoever set off the explosion is probably dead by now, anyway. All we have to do is wait until nightfall to check."

Cato sighs in exasperation. "That's probably the only sensible idea I've heard all day." He throws his sword down, joining it on the ground a few seconds later. "Now, we wait."

**CLOVE:**

It's nightfall. Clove lies down on the rough grass to go to sleep, beside Cato, who said that he'd take the first watch. Everything is quiet, except for the faint rustling of the trees and grass, when suddenly...

"Attention, tributes." A loud booming voice seems to come from all around, reverberating. Clove opens her eyes wide, listening. Surely, this is the grand time when the death of Katniss Everdeen is announced!

But the voice goes on to announce a feast, set to take place at sunrise, with something that each of the tributes desperately need. The voice then cuts off as the anthem plays. Clove glances up at the sky and sees the faces of the girl from District Eleven, Rue, and Marvel flash across. She feels a sort of grim satisfaction seeing Rue's name up there.

_Rue deserved to die because of what she and Everdeen did to us,_ she thinks, almost joyfully. _And I don't feel bad for Marvel, either. Abandoning us like that..._

"Did you hear that, Clove?" Her thoughts are pulled back to reality as she watches Cato through the semi-darkness. "We need a plan for tomorrow."

"How Katniss Everdeen will be delighted to be reunited with her little friend." Clove mutters, smiling at the thought. "Well, what should we do?"

"So I go in for the pack, you scout round for any of the others, and we meet back at the lake." Clove states, stowing her collection of knives carefully in her pockets. She runs a hand through her dark hair and surveys Cato's face, his expression pensive.

He nods. "I won't be too far away."

She laughs at him. "I'll be _fine,_ Cato. I don't need you to babysit me." She narrows her eyes, intent on completing the task at hand. "Let's do this."

Clove crouches around the side of the Cornucopia, her eyes scanning the area ahead of her. There's the table, with the bags for every district. She's tempted to just grab her bag and run, but she has to stay focussed. Katniss Everdeen could be anywhere...

A flash of red catches her eye. She watches as the girl from District Five sprints towards the table with the bags, grabs hers and sprints off in the other direction. Clove's hand tightens on her knife. Should she? No, let her go. Better to save her knives for Everdeen...

_There!_ There's Katniss, running towards the table with the bags. Clove sprints towards her, letting her knife fly from her hand. It misses, but leaves a streak of blood behind. She dodges two of Katniss' arrows, then slams into her, knocking her down. Adrenaline rushes through her body as she grabs as many knives as she can and pins Katniss down onto the ground, who is struggling but to no avail. _Something to give the audience a good show,_ she thinks, holding her biggest knife to Katniss' throat.

"Where's Lover Boy?" she taunts Katniss. "You know, it's too bad you couldn't help your little friend...what was her name? Rue? Well, we killed her." She grabs Katniss' hair, pulling her head down so she can't escape. "And now-" Clove flicks open a smaller knife, and strokes the blade along Katniss' cheek, "we're going to kill you."

Suddenly, the knife is thrown from her grasp, and she's slammed against the Cornucopia by a heavy, strong pair of arms. Gasping in terror, she looks into the face of Thresh. Rue's District partner.

"You kill her?" he demands in fury, his eyes fierce and frightening.

She shakes her head, gasping for breath. "CATO!" she screams, terrified. Where was Cato? He's not there. She needs him. Now, or she's going to die. "CATO!"

Thresh grabs her, throwing her back against the Cornucopia. Her head smashes against the side, and she's barely able to do anything else, when Thresh grabs her again. For a second time, she's slammed against the strong wall, she can feel something in her head crack open, and–

**CATO:**

He runs towards the Cornucopia the moment he hears Clove's voice screaming for his help. _Faster,_ he tells himself, the rustle of undergrowth and snap of twigs indicating that his feet were, at least, moving somewhere. Cato bursts through the trees, running faster at the sight of the Cornucopia, looking for a sign, anything, from Clove.

But as he rounds the corner of it, he knows he's too late. There's Clove, lying on the ground, her eyes wide, mouth slightly open in a mixture of surprise and terror. Cato notices blood splashed on the ground, on the area behind Clove's head.

As Cato kneels down on the ground beside her, he waits to feel something. Pain, sadness, or anger, maybe. But instead, he feels nothing. Or maybe, numb is the better word.

As he runs his hand carefully over Clove's hair, he thinks, _They're going to pay. All of them._

But he doesn't know whether he's talking about the other tributes or the Capitol.

The sound of brute snarling echoes behind Cato as he rushes towards the only shelter left, the Cornucopia. The wolf-muttations had just appeared out of nowhere. One second, the night had been quiet, the only sound being the rustling of the forest...then, suddenly the bang of the cannon. He had looked up to see the face of Thresh flash across the sky. _Good,_ he had thought. _One less of them to worry about._

But the next second, a loud, snarling noise had caught his attention, and something that was very big and vicious had leaped out at him. He had done the only thing he could; ran as fast as he could towards the Cornucopia. Now, suddenly, there were more of the muttations, pounding after him, shaking the ground, barking and howling.

He's almost there, he can see the twisted shape of the Cornucopia getting closer, now he's hauling himself up, the muttations snapping below, baying for his blood...but _there,_ there, sprinting to the Cornucopia on the other side are Katniss and Peeta, three muttations rushing after them.

They've barely pulled themselves up, when Cato grabs Peeta from behind, forcing him into a fierce headlock. Katniss attempts to shoot at him, but due to the body armour he's wearing, from the bag, the arrow bounces off. She pulls the bow straight, ready to shoot again, arrow at the ready.

And Cato knows that this is the finale. Blood is running down the side of his face, he can taste it in his mouth, on his teeth. He's bruised, his face is smeared with dirt and he's used up nearly every ounce of his energy.

Only a tiny part of him–a _very_ tiny part–still wants to bring honour to his District.

Because he knows, deep down inside, that he doesn't want to do _any_ of this any more.

"Shoot. Go on." Cato smiles, as if mockingly. "I'm dead anyway." However, the sentence seems to come out in a sob. His grip around Peeta's neck tightens. "I can still do this. One more kill. Because that's all I know how to do. Bring pride to my District."

Cato's voice chokes up, and suddenly, all he wants is for Katniss to shoot the arrow at him and get this over with. He's tired of everything, and just wants for it all to end.

Then, suddenly, it does end.

He's falling over the side of the Cornucopia, landing on the grass with a thud, victim to the muttations. They're ripping at him with their teeth, their snarls not quite muffling Cato's screams of pain and terror.

He hopes that Katniss' arrow finds him quickly.

District Twelve would sure be proud.

**Hope you enjoyed Part 2! Foxface's chapter will be up soon, but am not really sure how long it's going to take, but I'll try my BEST not to make it too long!**


	3. Foxface

**Hi everyone! Here's Foxface's part in the story, hope you like reading it! It was rather hard to write as she pretty much never talked at all, so it's probably shorter than the other ones, but anyway, here it is!**

Foxface isn't sure why, out of all people who are eligible to enter the Hunger Games, why it was _her_ that was picked to represent District Five.

She slowly walks up to the stage, feeling the eyes of the District bore into her from all around. The man from the Capitol smiles at her, then proudly pushes her forwards to the front of the stage, as if he's the owner of the museum, and she's one of the main exhibitions. And she's left staring at the faces of the people from her district, wondering how on earth she'll survive once the Games start.

She thinks about this as she and her district partner are led by the Peacekeepers and their escort onto the train.

One of the things that she is certainly able to rely on is her intelligence. She's one of the smartest people in her class. She's able to figure out how certain things work before anyone explains it to her. She can solve a numeric code in less than a minute. And she's pretty sure that she'll be able to learn something along the lines of survival skills before she officially enters the arena.

Hopefully, her intelligence will be enough to see her through at least the first week or so of the Games.

She hopes that it's at least enough.

* * *

"She seems shy. A bit elusive, almost."

"...District Five...what do you think we can do with that?"

"They're only power plant workers, after all..."

Foxface lies on her 'bed' in the supposed 'beauty salon' and listens to the murmur of voices from behind the curtain. The Tribute Parade is in less than four hours, and the only thing that everyone seems to be certain about is the fact that District Five won't last for very long in the Games.

_Time to change that,_ she thinks, as her stylist, Glinda, sweeps the curtain across and enters her room.

"Now, I was thinking that District Five should go for a costume to represent power." Glinda states, rustling sheets of paper that Foxface thinks are the costume designs for the parade.

Foxface nods but doesn't say anything. She watches Glinda attempt to put together what looks like a hair straightener, but fitting all the pieces together wrongly. Just by looking at it, Foxface can easily see how to put it together.

"Glinda, you squeeze the end of the handle so that _that_ piece and _that_ piece will click together." she says, pointing at the respective parts of the straightener. "Then you twist _that_ piece onto the end."

Glinda stares at her.

"This is only available in the Capitol." she says, looking at Foxface suspiciously. "How on earth did you know how that worked?"

"I didn't."

She sees the briefest flicker of surprise cross Glinda's face, her opinion of Foxface seeming to waver, as if she's thinking, _Maybe they're not just power plant workers, after all._

Foxface hopes she's right.

* * *

The chariot parade passes rather quickly, with her and her District partner waving nervously at the crowds. Foxface doesn't do crowds easily. Or large groups of people. Which is mainly why she's not quite sure what to say during her interview with Caesar Flickerman. She answers his questions quickly, without many details, except when he asks her, "How do you think you will be able to solve problems during the Games?"

"When I apply myself to a situation present, I will be able to figure it out." she replies.

However, it's not too bad when they're all at the training session the next day. At least she has time to focus, particularly on what the instructors are saying.

"Remember, don't ignore the survival skills, as most of you will die from natural causes. Ten percent from infection, twenty percent from dehydration. Exposure can kill as easily as a knife."

Foxface certainly doesn't ignore the survival skills. It's what she ends up spending most of her time at, apart from the compulsory stations. The first station she comes to is a matching program. Hmm. Match edible and non-edible plants into their respective categories.

Easy enough.

As time passes, she improves at the 'game'. Her fingers fire rapidly away at the keyboard, with her occasionally glancing quickly down the keyboard, the black silhouette images of the plants disappearing rapidly before her eyes. When she glances back up at the keyboard, her time is flashing before her.

_Fifteen seconds._

She feels elated.

_Pretty sure nobody has ever got that far before,_ she thinks. As she does so, a plan is slowly forming itself in her mind. She's pretty sure that nobody here remembers her name. Out of the tributes, that is.

And the only thing she's really good at seems to be at these survival stations.

_That could be to my advantage,_ she thinks, hiding a smile. Sneaky and cunning, yes, but that at least guaranteed a chance for survival.

She likes the sound of that.

* * *

When the loud buzzer sounds for the start of the Games, standing on her plate beside Katniss Everdeen from District Twelve, Foxface can only think of one possible option to offer her any chance of survival whatsoever.

She runs.

She runs away into the forest, away from the bloodbath that is taking place behind her. Away from the high chance being killed instantly, and towards the possible chance that she may be able to survive another day.

Her feet are pounding in a steady rhythm, the shouts and noise from the Cornucopia are growing fainter, when–bang, she runs right into Katniss Everdeen. The two girls quickly scramble to their feet, staring at each other fearfully. Foxface risks a quick glance behind her, not knowing who may be rushing towards them, ready to kill. A second later, both she and Katniss flee in opposite directions, not looking back.

She doesn't know what happened to her District partner. But she doesn't care, either.

As the days pass, Foxface begins to notice small things. Things that, only a week ago, didn't seem so important, and now are more important than ever.

She notices where water sources are, where edible plants grow, and where the best shelter is. Mainly under large trees, ones that may have small hollows in them. She always makes sure never to make a fire, as it could attract one of the other tributes' attention...and her death.

She also watches the other tributes, hiding at a distance, listening to them as they discuss their plans. She sees that District One and Two have set up an alliance with the boy from District Twelve. She hides in the trees and watches as they chase Katniss up a tree, laughing at her. Right now, the Careers are her main priority. They have food, weapons, supplies. Things that she needs, just as much as they do.

So, as she awakens to the commotion caused by the Tracker Jackers, and hears the heavy sound of footsteps thundering past, accompanied by shouts of terror, she stays still for a minute before she's up and running again. Towards the lake, where the other tributes are. And their supplies.

And the best part?

She remembers all of their names, but none of them have any idea who she is.

Perfect.

* * *

Sneaking through the trees to the Career's camp, Foxface pauses a moment to think. The twirly buns on either side of her head are coming loose, the stray bits of hair flying away from her face. Like fox ears, she thinks, tucking a strand behind her ear. Right now, like a fox, she has to put her intelligence to the test.

For the past couple of days, she's been silently observing. Not allowing anyone to see her, of course, but she's been listening. Watching. Between sleeping, finding what little food she could, and hearing the bangs of the cannon, she's been gathering together little bits of information. And today, she hopes, is the day that she plans to reap what the others have sowed.

Just the thought of it makes her stomach ache with hunger. She _needs_ some of that food, and fast.

When she sees that the Careers have been distracted, she feels a small amount of relief wash over her. _At least that's got them out of the way,_ she thinks, before gathering herself together, poising herself to run, and–

Foxface sprints to the pyramid of supplies as fast as she can, stopping before she reaches the mines situated around the pile. She knows it's a minefield from watching the others jump around it, stepping in certain places to get what they needed, before leaping back over the mines again. And so far, she's got a pretty good idea of where the mines are.

She jumps over a small pile of dirt, landing lightly on the left of it, then dodging around another one. In a series of leaps and bounds, as if performing a dance sequence, she gets closer to the supply pile...when suddenly, she's there, grabbing at a burlap bag of apples hanging down beside a large suitcase.

And it takes all her willpower not to get _more._ To grab all the food she can possibly carry and get out of there as fast as she can. But she can't. Instead, she only takes what she needs to survive, and so the others don't notice.

Then, like a shot, she's out of there, sprinting past the boy on watch from District Three. By the time he's turned his head, Foxface has disappeared into the trees, back to her safe makeshift camp in the trees.

She laughs the whole way there.

* * *

That night, lying on her bed of crackly grass hidden behind some large bushes, Foxface hears an announcement, reverberating around the arena. A feast is planned to be held at the Cornucopia. At sunrise. Despite her hunger pangs, she grins to herself. _At last. A chance to demonstrate what I'm capable of,_ she thinks, as the anthem plays, and the faces of the dead tributes flash across the sky.

When the sun rises, she's hiding between the trees that surround the Cornucopia, eyeing the bags on the table. One of them is for her. One of them contains the thing that she needs most.

But she's not going to stand there waiting forever, or she might die.

Literally.

So, she sprints up towards the table with the bags on it, faster than she's ever run before. She grabs the bag with '5' marked on it, and runs in the opposite direction.

And nobody tries to attack her, shoot at her, throw a knife at her. Nobody tries to follow her, either, in fear of getting attacked themselves, by the other tributes. A faint whirring noise catches her attention, just to the left of her. Foxface walks slowly up to the camera, and gazes at it for a second or two.

"It's a little thing called strategy." she mutters quietly, giving it a small smile and waving her bag.

Then, in case anyone is watching her, she turns around and runs away, back to her camp.

* * *

Unfortunately, the food in her bag, though temporarily stopping the ache in her stomach from hunger, does not last long. Foxface knows she needs to start thinking about what she could do next. She can figure this out. She _has_ to. It's what she told Caesar Flickerman at the interview...how many days ago, now? Ten? Twelve? It seems a lifetime ago.

So this is why she's hiding, spying on Peeta and Katniss from District Twelve. As far as she knows, they are the only two alive from the same district. She's expecting them to suddenly stop, for them to realise she is following them, and for Katniss to shoot an arrow at her.

But they don't. She follows them, when suddenly, they do stop.

"We should probably hunt around here, or there won't be any food left." she hears Katniss say.

Peeta agrees, and Foxface watches as they go their separate ways. After a second's snap decision, she decides to follow Peeta. He hasn't got a bow and arrow, after all. She hides behind a tree, watching intently as he gathers up berries. She can't tear her eyes away as the berries are piled on a small patch of grass. They're big, dark and juicy...and they look so good, that Foxface can feel her mouth watering at the mere thought of them.

Even so, she feels a tiny prickle of doubt. _Are they poisonous?_

They might be.

But right then, Foxface dismisses the thought. Peeta has now moved onto harvesting another area of bush just a few yards away from her hiding spot.

She's so hungry that she doesn't care.

Suddenly, she's scooping the berries into her mouth, feeling the juice bursting on her tongue and the berries exploding into flavour.

Foxface hasn't even finished her handful of berries when Katniss and Peeta find her, lying dead on the ground with her fingers stained purple.

Maybe she shouldn't have eaten the nightlock berries, after all.

It would have saved a lot of bother.

**Well there you go, hopefully it added up to your expectations! Next up is the perspectives of Thresh and Rue, but I don't know how long away that will be (as school is hectic lately with exams, etc.) but I'll try my best not to let it be too long! Try not to give up on me :P**


	4. Rue&Thresh

**Hello everyone! I'm so sorry I haven't updated recently (as school's been very busy lately with exams coming up!) so here's the last chapter of Second Perspectives, from the perspectives of Rue and Thresh!**

RUE:

Rue perches up in one of the tallest trees in District Eleven, feeling the cool morning breeze blow against her face and listening to the rustling of the leaves. Looking down at the scene below, at first glance, nothing seems out of the ordinary. People hurrying here and there, orchard workers below organising supplies to be sent into the Capitol, mockingjays flying from tree to tree. Then, at another glance, nothing is as it should be. Members of the District talk in low, hushed voices, so that Rue can't hear what is being said. The workers move produce and wooden boxes around, without actually organising anything, looking anxious. And the song the mockingjays are singing today is different from all the other days.

Rue knows that it's because today is the day of the Reaping. Reaping days always tend to make the whole of the District nervous, and no wonder. A mockingjay, perched on a branch near her, shrills out a familiar, four-note tune. She knows what that means. _The Reaping will start soon._ As she sings back to it, her stomach clenches. Part of her doesn't want to get down from this tree she's clinging to.

But, whether she wants to or not, she knows that she has no choice.

Rue's mother straightens the front of Rue's powder blue dress, then slides a silver clip into her hair. She takes a deep breath, then fixes a smile onto her face.

"You look lovely, darling." She reaches down and gives Rue a hug. As Rue squeezes her back, tightly, she whispers, "What if my name is picked?"

Her mother, her brown eyes soft and caring, brushes a stray bit of hair away from Rue's face. "Then, remember that I will always love you, no matter what. Be strong and be brave." She releases Rue and picks up a small necklace woven out of grass, a wooden star hanging in the middle. "Take this. It's your lucky charm, made especially for you by your friends who work in the orchard."

"Momma, I don't want to go." Rue's eyes fill with tears.

Her mother produces a scratchy paper tissue to wipe away Rue's tears. "Sssh. Everything will be okay."

Rue lets her mother fasten the necklace round her neck. Suddenly, the two of them hear the warning bell, the ominous signal for the members of District Eleven to start walking to the centre of town.

Time to go.

"Rue Laurette."

Upon hearing her name, she can't quite believe it's her. There must have been a mistake, surely. It _can't_ be her.

But as everyone turns to stare at her, the realization slowly sinks in.

It _is_ her.

She walks forward up to the stage, feeling smaller than ever under the watchful eye of the members of the Capitol. Every step feels like a dream, as if the stage is going to fade away in an instant, and she'll wake up, relieved that it was just a nightmare, with the comforting arms and soft words from her mother to comfort her.

But she knows now, as she is displayed in front of the District, that this is never going to happen.

"Any volunteers?" the escort asks, looking at the crowd and back at Rue.

But, like she knew it would, the District answers with silence.

She notices that the escort is pulling out another piece of paper, this time from the second bowl, and reads out the name of Thresh, who, like her, walks up slowly onto the stage. They don't know each other that well, but she's always liked Thresh. He's big and strong, and is always kind to everyone he meets. Including her.

But, as the two of them shake hands, she has no idea whether or not this will be true in a few days' time.

THRESH:

He sits opposite Rue as the train rushes towards the Capitol, head spinning as he tries to make sense of the events that have happened in the past hour. Saying goodbye to his grandmother and sister was hard. Very hard. His grandmother tried to be brave, not just for him but for his sixteen-year old sister, who looked as though she was using all her willpower not to cry, or probably go and stamp on one of the Peacekeeper's feet. But right now, his main concern is for Rue, as she sits slumped against the window, tears coursing silently down her cheeks.

"Rue?"

She stirs slightly, looking at him. "What?"

He doesn't really know what to say, so he offers the best words of comfort he can think of. "We're going to be all right. You and I."

She sniffs, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand. "You don't know that."

He gives her a small smile. "Yes we are. It'll be fine, just you wait and see."

Thresh knows that Rue doesn't really believe him, but she gives a tiny nod, and attempts to smile back at him.

The escort leads them through crowds of bizarrely-dressed people, the colours merging into one another as they walk down the street. The people of the Capitol smile at them, call out their names, and Thresh doesn't even know who they are. There's even a fluffy pink dog on a leash, being led by a woman with the most outrageous matching pink outfit, complete with bright pink high heels. _Poor dog,_ Thresh thinks, as their escort leads them into a large stone building, all elaborately decorated with a medium-sized fountain situated at one end of the room.

The preparation for the Tribute Parade takes longer than Thresh expected. It's only when him and Rue are in their outfits that the impact of what's happening actually sinks in.

He tugs at the strap of his blue denim overalls, and tries to ignore the rustling of the silver 'crown' he hears every time he moves his head. Glancing down, he sees Rue doing the same thing, looking round the room at everyone else.

Thresh doesn't see the _point_ of this. Getting dressed up for parades and interviews as they are all shown off to the world, before getting placed in the arena so that everyone can watch them die. It's barbaric.

_Hopefully though,_ he thinks, as he and Rue are ushered into their chariots, _I'm able to learn something that will help me to survive in the arena. For a few days, anyway._

And as the horses begin to trot forwards, towards the shouts and applause from the members of the Capitol, he knows he's got a lot to learn. Especially if he wants to stay alive.

RUE:

The next day is the training session. Rue takes a look around at all the other tributes, and easily sees that she's the smallest out of all of them. She doesn't know if that's a good or bad thing. Still, there are some things that she's able to use to her advantage. Being small helps. She can climb some of the tallest trees in District Eleven. She's swift and silent at the same time. And she won the sprinting competition held at school last year, even though she was one of the smallest.

So the moment she sees Cato's knife, she can't resist the temptation. Yes, she knows it's wrong, but it's also useful practice. Rue quickly scampers up to the overhead rafters, and is only just settled there, when Cato realises that his knife is missing.

Amid the shouting below and the commotion of the Peacekeepers pulling Cato and the other boy apart, Thresh looks up, sees her and grins. She turns the knife over in her hands, smiling.

Oh, she'll give it back. Later. Maybe.

She also keeps an eye on the other tributes. She observes them, noticing their strengths and weaknesses, particularly the members of District One and Two. Careers. She'll be able to avoid them easily. Rue doubts that they'll be able to climb trees like she can.

However, there is one pair in particular that she finds herself watching, more than all the others. The two from District Twelve, Katniss and Peeta. She doesn't know exactly why, but she finds them interesting. Especially Katniss, wearing her gold District token that resembles a mockingjay. Rue hides behind a square stone pillar, watching them.

"I think you have a shadow." Peeta says, glancing up and noticing Rue. She retreats further behind the pillar, yet can't help noticing that they're smiling at her.

Hmm. Maybe Katniss is someone to be trusted.

"Having fun spying on everyone?"

Rue glances up to find Thresh standing next to her, smiling. He's holding a large weight in his left hand, covered with silver spikes.

"I'm not spying, I'm watching." she says, looking at the metal weight. "And what are you doing with that?"

"I just threw it around a few times to get the Careers off my case." Thresh replies, swinging it slightly in his hand. "I think the Gamemakers were pretty impressed."

Rue pins a smile on her face, trying to pretend that she's not the slightest bit bothered about her odds to win the Games. Sixty to one. The lowest number out of all the tributes.

Not exactly the best weight to have on her shoulders, particularly before the Games actually start.

After a few days of eating, sleeping, training, and a private session with the Gamemakers, it's time for the interviews with Caesar Flickerman. Rue's curly hair is brushed and brushed again, and she's been 'polished up' as much as she can in preparation for the interview. However, she hates her outfit. It's a light blue dress with puffy short sleeves, with a ridiculous matching bow that ties at the back. At least she's able to walk in the white shoes. At least she's also her answers prepared for the interview.

"So you can climb trees, you're pretty quick, and are you a hunter, gatherer, or both?" Caesar asks her, lounging back in his chair, with all eyes upon them.

"I'm a bit of both." she replies, truthfully. "But don't count me out. I'm fast." She nods, for emphasis. "And if the other tributes can't catch me, they can't kill me."

"I wouldn't count you out in a million years." Caesar replies, and Rue feels her spirits lift a tiny bit.

Hopefully he still keeps that promise as the Games begin.

THRESH:

The start of the Games is nothing like Thresh expects. Stationed around the giant pile of supplies by the Cornucopia, his gaze flashes around, to the other tributes, to the supplies, to the Cornucopia, then back again. The flashing numbers that signal the beginning of the Games seem to be disappearing faster and faster with each second. And, for some, the end of life ticks nearer and nearer.

_14, 13, 12..._

Thresh catches Rue's eye, standing on her plate next to Katniss. She looks up and meets his gaze, then jerks her head slightly to the pile of supplies. He shakes his head, and she gives a tiny nod.

_8, 7, 6..._

Faces of his friends and family flash through his head. His best friend Thorox, his classmates–

_5, 4, 3–_

The workers in the orchard, Rue–

_2–_

His sister–

1–

His grandmother–

_GO!_

And then he's running as fast as he can towards the nearest thing he can find, a large lumpy green bag. He slings it over his shoulder, not even pausing to look around for any possible signs of danger before running closer to the Cornucopia, to the entrance. All around and behind him, the Careers are slashing at the other tributes, not even seeming to notice him as he grabs a large knife from just inside the entrance. But there's another one of the tributes, running out of the Cornucopia, stopping when he sees Thresh. Pointing a long spear at him.

Thresh does the only thing he can think of doing in order to stay alive. He knocks the boy's weapon to one side, slashing at his head with the other, not staying to check whether he's alive or not. Then he runs away as fast as he can, his big knife in hand. Towards the forest, into the trees. Towards safety.

Eventually, after he stops running, he finds himself at the edge of a line of trees, facing a golden field of grain. The field seems to stretch on forever, or maybe it only seems that way from where he's standing. He stands and listens. No shouts of terror are heard, no weapon clanging against another. There's only the slight rustle of the stalks of grain against each other, and the–

Bang!

Thresh jerks his head up, startled. There's the cannon, which their mentor had explained as, "the end of another tribute." As if the tributes themselves weren't even people. There's another cannon blast. He begins to count, until after the twelfth bang, no more are heard.

He hopes that Rue is still alive.

After all, if he does get killed in the next day or so, she's the best hope that District Eleven have got.

RUE:

Rue stretches out high up in a tree, watching the darkness gradually invade the fading light, and hearing the rustle of branches and insects alike. It's times like this that she's grateful that she's able to easily climb trees. She doubts that most of the other tributes are able to climb trees, being bigger than she is. Her fingers are becoming slowly colder as the temperature drops, and she's starting to shiver. Digging around in her pack, hung securely on a branch next to her, she manages to find an extra pair of socks. Pulling them onto her hands, she settles as comfortably as she can on the broad branch, while the anthem blares, and all the dead tributes' faces are displayed on the blue screen.

Rue's mind flashes back to her family back in District Eleven. She pictures her siblings, sitting as close as they can to the flickering television, trying to look for her, see if she's all right. She sees her youngest sister, her brown eyes solemn and scared, clutching her mother's skirt. And she sees her mother, staring straight at the temperamental screen, with her lips pressed tightly together to hold in any emotion threatening to overwhelm her. Does she cry? No. She can't. She has to be strong for the rest of the family, in case Rue doesn't come back alive...

Rue blinks hard, fighting the tears that threaten to spill down her cheeks, but then a sound down below jerks her to her attention. A loud scream. Then the cannon fires.

They come through the forest, talking loudly and laughing. There they are, the four Careers...no, wait. There's someone else with them. A closer look, and Rue sees that it's Peeta Mellark from District Twelve. _What's he doing with them?_ she wonders, listening harder to catch a snippet of the conversation.

"You sure she went this way?" Cato asks Peeta, as if threateningly. She glimpses the silver flash of Cato's knife as he points the tip of it towards him.

"Yeah, I'm sure." Peeta nods in agreement, though he looks the tiniest bit scared.

"You'd better be." Cato nods for the rest of the Careers to follow him, linking his arm with Glimmer, the girl from District One.

Rue knows automatically that they're talking about Katniss.

And, even though she doesn't know her very well, Rue wants Katniss to stay alive at all costs.

Maybe it's because of her Mockingjay pin.

At least, that way, she knows that she's able to be trusted.

She's not sure how many days pass before anything else happens. Two, maybe? Possibly. But one minute, she's situated up in her tree, planning where to hunt for food so she won't get hunted in return, the next minute, she sees someone running as fast as they can towards the tree next to her, and hauling themselves up it. Rue recognizes their face immediately. It's Katniss. And she's being chased by the Careers.

Retreating quickly and silently back to the tree trunk, Rue watches as the Careers run into view, laughing and shouting up at Katniss. As the two arrows fly up, missing her by inches, Rue lets out a breath she doesn't know she's been holding. Her small hand tightens on the branch she's gripping, and it's then when she makes up her mind to help Katniss, whatever the cost.

THRESH:

His feet are aching from the long walk through the field of swishing grain, searching for a source of water. His throat dry, mouth parched, and he has to stop his tongue from sticking to the roof of his mouth.

_If there's no water here, then how can the grain grow?_ Thresh wonders, before dismissing the thought as another one creeps into his mind. _The Gamemakers would have made sure of that,_ he thinks grimly. _How much further before I die of thirst?_

Just as he's about to collapse from exhaustion, he notices that the ground underneath has grown remarkably squishy. Every time he takes a step, there is a squelching noise from underneath the ground, sounding exactly like–

Water.

Thresh's pace increases, and he can feel a ray of hope growing inside him as he follows the source of the sound. He brushes aside the grain, turns a corner, and there, right in front of him, is a large pool of water. It's so clear that he can see the reflection of the grain waving behind him. Thresh falls to his knees into the water, putting his face right into it and gulping down large mouthfuls of the cold freshness. Feeling for his empty water container, he fills it right up to the brim, screwing the lid back on tightly. Just in case he has to make a run for it.

It turns out that he might have been better to run sooner than later.

Because, some time in the late afternoon, they come for him. The Careers.

He had been slicing grain with his big curved knife, in preparation for another meal that would at least be enough to satisfy him for a few more hours or so. He doesn't even know they're there, behind him, until a shadow falls over him, and he automatically knows that he's got company.

Thresh doesn't know how they know he's here. To kill him? He's taller, and possibly stronger than their leader, Cato. He turns around and points his knife threateningly at them, almost silently daring for them to take him on. If he were to be killed, at least Rue would still have a chance.

"Put the knife down, Eleven, and I won't need to bring out mine." Cato waves his hands in the air in an unconcerned manner. The rest of the Careers watch him, appearing slightly unsettled.

Thresh doesn't lower the knife.

"What do you want?" he hisses, glaring at each of them with distaste.

"Well _that's_ a nice way to start a conversation." he hears the girl, Glimmer, say.

"Hey, no need for the hostility, we have a proposition for you." Cato says, still keeping up the appearance of being casual. "Come and join our alliance."

"What?" Thresh's grip tightens slightly on the knife handle.

"We've got food, water, weapons, everything you need to survive, and everything that we need to help pick off the rest of the tributes." Cato adds, with an encouraging nod.

"And plenty of knives." he hears the girl from District Two say, smirking.

"Well–" The boy from District One says, looking at Thresh up and down, "will you join us?"

For a second, he's tempted.

Food, water, weapons, would be there whenever he needed them. And so would his enemies.

Who would also be there to kill him off when the time arose.

All of a sudden, Rue's face flashes through his mind.

He couldn't let that happen.

"No." The one word comes that comes out of his mouth in reply is flat and hard. As the word registers, he sees Cato's expression change to slight disbelief, before regaining his normal composure. The other Careers are looking at the two of them in silence, not sure how to react.

"Well, that's a shame." Cato is the first one to break the tense silence. "Thought you'd recognize a good offer when you saw one." He shrugs, raising an eyebrow at Thresh. "Until next time, then."

Thresh listens as the Career's footsteps die away, until he can hear nothing but the rustle of the grain. And as he does so, he can't help noticing that the grain itself looks a bit weathered. Not as strong and golden as it used to be...

RUE:

It's early morning, and the dawn is just beginning to break. Rue has been caught between watching the Careers and Katniss, her gaze flickering to each of them, and sleeping. She'd be dozing off, maybe sleeping for a few hours, and then the sound of a bird call or a twig snapping would jerk her back awake again.

Nobody knows she's still here, in this tree. Nobody has suddenly looked up, or across from her, and realised she's there.

Until now.

Katniss holds Rue's gaze for a few seconds, and it's only then that Rue has to decide what to do. Of course, she wants to see the Careers go down, one by one, but she's got no idea how. If she wants to form an alliance with Katniss that may keep her alive, she has to think of something.

Then, she does.

Her hand raises, pointing to the buzzing, potentially lethal nest that could inflict death on those down below. None of the Tracker Jackers have emerged out of their nest yet. But it's only a matter of time before they do.

Rue points downwards, to the sleeping bodies of the Careers, and then mimes a sawing motion, to and fro. Katniss holds up her own knife and mimics the motion. Rue nods at her, then swings herself backwards into the trees.

Watching the nest of Tracker Jackers being dropped from the tree is like watching a bomb go off. The angry swarm around the Careers, not completely masking the sounds of panic and terror from below, especially from the girl from District One, who seems to have got the worst of it. After a while, the buzzing from the wasps recedes, and Rue is able to scramble down the tree, running through the trees, into the forest. Lying beside a tree is the body of Glimmer, her once–beautiful face puffy and purple with Tracker Jacker stings. And there, further along, is Katniss, lying on the ground. Rue knows just by looking at her that she's not dead, but did get stung badly.

Rue drags Katniss over to an area of bushes, offering good shelter from both the weather and the Careers. _Time to put your knowledge of plants to the test, Rue Laurette,_ she thinks as she binds leaves from an Elderleaf tree around Katniss' stings.

Now, all she can do is wait for Katniss to wake up, if an alliance is going to be possible.

A couple of days later, Katniss does wake up. Rue hasn't been far from the area, collecting berries, when she hears a sound of stirring. With a pocketful of berries, she ventures cautiously towards the area, hiding behind a tree when she sees that Katniss is awake. She must know that Rue's there, cautiously peeping around the trunk at her.

"It's okay, I'm not going to hurt you." she says softly, and Rue believes her.

The two of them sit on a log half an hour later, eating a wild groosling which Katniss had caught, and Rue had cooked. As she chews the delicious flesh of the bird, Rue realizes that this is possibly the first proper food that she's had since entering the arena. Even back at home, this would be a luxury that many people, including her family, wouldn't be able to avoid.

So when Katniss offers her her groosling leg, she almost can't believe it.

"I've never had a whole leg all to myself before." she says, half to herself, her teeth eagerly sinking into the leg of groosling.

"So where are Cato and the others?" Katniss asks, watching Rue devouring the groosling.

"Down by the lake." Rue replies, her mind flashing back to what she had seen when she herself had gone there a few days ago. "All their supplies are piled up in this great big pyramid."

"Sounds tempting." Katniss gives her a smile, which she returns.

_Seems like luck is on my side,_ Rue thinks, fingering the wooden star hanging around her neck. _I'm going to need it more than ever._

The next day, Katniss and Rue put their carefully executed plan into action. Rue helps Katniss drag long green tree branches into a pile to make a smoke signal. Or, a trap for the Careers.

Then, another thought jumps to Rue's mind. "We need a signal. In case one of us gets held up." Her gaze flickers around the forest, when suddenly, it lands on a bird perched on a tree. A mockingjay. Not just one, but many, sitting in different trees around where she and Katniss are standing. "Like this." She sings her familiar four-note tune to the birds, and listen as they pick it up, chirping it repeatedly.

"We're going to be okay." Katniss pulls her in for a hug. Rue clings to her, wishing that it were true.

Rue hears the rustling of the trees and the ground underfoot as she runs towards the next fire, away from the Careers. It would only be a matter of time before they were on her trail. So far, so good. With some luck, Katniss would be able to get at their supplies, or maybe even destroy them. Rue thinks about this as she lights the second fire. A spark jumps out before catching onto a leaf and starting to smoke. After repeating the process a few times, Rue is just about to turn around and head for the third fire, when a loud BANG! makes her jump. The ground shakes under her feet and some of the leaves fall down from the trees in a dizzying spin.

Despite the situation, Rue can't help but smile. _Katniss,_ she thinks, jogging quickly towards the next fire. _She's destroyed all their supplies, she's destroyed all the–_

Like a shot, she's hit by something from above, knocking her to her feet, and pinned down on the forest floor. Rue flails wildly, panicking, realizing that she's trapped in a net.

"Katniss, _help!_"

She screams again for Katniss, listening as hard as she can for the mockingjays, an answering call, anything. But, then, there's Katniss, running towards her, cutting the ropes with her knife, pulling Rue to her feet and hugging her. Suddenly, Rue's eyes widen in horror at the sight of the District One boy behind them.

Rue doesn't register what's actually happened, until she slowly pulls the spear out of her stomach, the place where it hit her feeling icy and cold. Numb.

And she knows, now, that she'll never make it home. That she'll die on the battlefield, with Katniss holding her, and in the middle of the forest. Katniss is now starting to sob, whispering to her that she's going to be okay. Rue's eyes fill with tears, feeling them trickle down the side of her face.

"You have to win." she whispers to Katniss, before drawing a deep breath and asking shakily, "Can you sing?"

So Katniss sings to her as best she can, trying to suppress her tears. Rue recognises the lullaby from somewhere...back when her mother used to sing to her before she tucked Rue into bed. Now, it's just like Katniss is her mother, instead. Rue's breathing starts to slow as she gazes up at the tall trees, their branches slightly waving to and fro. In fact, the wound from the spear doesn't seem all that bad now, it's just a scratch. Rue feels herself rising up, towards the sky's white light, set free to fly away, along with the rest of her friends...the mockingjays.

THRESH:

A couple of days have passed since Rue's death, and Thresh is slowly beginning to piece together a plan of what to do next. He wasn't able to believe it when he saw Rue's picture flash in the sky. He had felt something inside him fall, leaving him forever. Thresh had felt that it was his duty to look after Rue back home...and here, not able to follow her but always praying that her name didn't appear in the sky at nightfall.

And now it had.

A feast is the last thing on Thresh's mind right now. Especially at the Cornucopia, where the rest of the Careers would be baying for his blood now that he had refused to join their alliance. But still, he has to get that pack. The food from the grain has been turning out less and less lately, and the large pond of water has begun to dry up. As well as that, the grain itself looks dry and brown, bending in the wind as though ready to snap off at any minute.

He needs that pack. And he'll do whatever it takes to get it.

Hiding between a gap in the trees around the Cornucopia, Thresh eyes the table with the bags on it. He can distinctly make out his one, with the number '11' on it. He poises himself to run, when, suddenly, Katniss Everdeen from District Twelve is sprinting towards the bags, then ambushed by Clove from District Two. Frozen, he watches as Clove pins Katniss down to the ground, and hears her taunt her, waving the knife mockingly.

"It's too bad, you couldn't help your little friend...what was her name? Rue?" Clove continues, smiling. "Well, we killed her."

Suddenly, Thresh is furiously angry. Adrenaline and anger take over, rushing through his body and mind as he sprints towards the Cornucopia, and seizes Clove as easily as though she were a rag doll.

"You kill her?" he shouts, holding her at least a foot above ground, shaking her. Clove, terrified, screams for Cato. Thresh slams her back against the wall of the Cornucopia, twice, and watches as she drops to the ground, dead.

Thresh turns to Katniss, who is watching him, with a mixture of shock, terror, and surprise. He knows he can't kill Katniss–she and Rue were friends. _A friend of Rue's is a friend of mine,_ he thinks, pointing a finger warningly at her.

"Just this time, Twelve. For Rue."

He turns around, seizing his bag, and runs back into the safety of the woods.

It's not long after that that Thresh is killed by the muttations.

He's turned his back on the grain field, which is no longer his place of safety and refuge. Thresh has just got out of the field, starting to head towards the forest, when he's attacked by the beasts. They leap on him, ripping, tearing and snarling. Thresh is yelling, thrashing around on the ground, overpowered by the huge muttations, when his cries choke off as one of the muttations rips his throat apart.

His cannon fires, and the field of grain finally grows silent, and lifeless.

**So, there you have it! Please leave a review, they mean a lot to me (A LOT)! I'm thinking of writing another HG story set in Catching Fire, but not sure what it's going to be about...any suggestions would be welcome!**

**And last but not least, I really hope that you liked reading my story! :)**


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